The Comeback

"The Comeback" is a well done blending of "The Office", "The Larry Sanders Show", and "Curb Your Enthusiasm". It is a fake reality show about an idiotic TV star that offers a parody of both reality TV and network sitcoms.

The show is composed of reality TV footage filmed during the life of a TV star from the 80's, played by Lisa Kudrow, trying to wage a career comeback by staring in a new TV sitcom. The twist is that rather than showing us a final edited fake reality TV show, the show is composed of outtakes from the fake reality TV show. We get to see the character redo lines that are supposed to be spontaneous reality, we see her continually tell the filmmakers to stop filming -- which they never do. And we even see the filmmakers themselves dealing with some of the logistical problems inherent in making this type of show.

What makes it all work is that Lisa Kudrow's character is a buffoon. She is totally delusional about how big of a star she is and the show asks us to laugh at her vanity and idiocy. She is a lot like the boss on BBC's "The Office", because she is a lead character we are meant to laugh and cringe at. At the same time, Kudrow gives her character just enough empathy that as much as we hate her we also feel sorry for her just a little bit. Knowing that Kudrow was so intimately involved in a network TV sitcom, makes the parody directed at sitcoms come across as very realistic and especially funny.

As long as you know that the show itself is supposed to be bad, and if you like the kind of comedy that is filled with cringe inducing moments of embarrassment, then you will like this show.

I have not been too happy with some of the shows portraying people in the business. They have usually been SO over the top that it sucks the jokes right out of it. Having seen THE COMEBACK tonight I'm very happy to say that this one is right on the money! It's funny and has a fresh take on what it means to be in this business and Lisa Kudrow is quiet Genius in her delivery (the way comedy should be!) A mockumentary should be just that...making fun without hitting us over the head with the punchlines. I think HBO has delivered yet another first rate show that of course I'm already hooked on. Thanks! and I can't wait for the next episode.

I was initially unimpressed with The Comeback. Never having been a fan of Friends, I didn't feel any particular connection with Lisa Kudrow. But since I watch Entourage and it is the lead-in show, I kept the TV on. The first few shows had me wondering why Lisa Kudrow would want to do such a crappy show...but for some unexplainable reason, I kept watching. I feel like, now at nearly the end of the first season, that I "get" the show. I am glad that I stuck it out. There have been some very funny moments on the show. In fact I decided to watch the season over again with a different perspective and have gained more from the second viewing, (with On-Demand). The Palm Springs episode really did it for me. Since then the show has only gotten better. There are a lot of long pauses to the show. I think this is indicative of the character's inability to say what is really on her mind, but usually ends up putting her foot in her mouth anyway. The premise of the show seemed a little confusing at first, but it's not hard to put it all together. Valerie Cherish is a washed up TV actress trying to gracefully get back in the groove, but she really isn't all that graceful. At the same time a reality show is being made to follow her on her comeback trail. The characters grow on you--Valerie Cherish, her husband, step-daughter and text- messaging friends; Valerie's young cast-mates on her TV show Room and Bored, and the humorless writers; her longtime gay hairstylist who is still only half-way out of the closet; her always present reality crew waiting for something awful to happen so they can boost ratings on the possibly-dying reality TV genre. It is subtle comedy and it just needed a little bit of a chance to find its ground. Without the irritating laugh-tracks and corny music of most TV comedies, the quiet pauses on the show are not the negative, uncomfortable ones that I first disliked--now it is off and running. And I really do look forward to the show!

This show is brilliant and Lisa Kudrow is amazing in it. If you've ever lived in LA, you already know this is closer to reality than any of the shows it satirizes.

Comparisons to the BBC version of "The Office" are inevitable. This show is probably as good as that critical darling, and it might be even better.

I've heard that it hasn't been renewed, which is a shame, as it's certainly much smarter than Darren Starr's other HBO hit, the long-running "Sex and the City.

Kudos to HBO and all involved for taking a chance on this risky and smart and painfully funny show.

I ran into this one on my HBO on demand last Sunday. For the first time I can remember, I was riveted to my TV. I watched all six or so (the total taped) episodes in one sitting.

The show is an interesting mix of TV-land looking at, and poking fun at itself. Keep in mind that this is a show within a show. We are supposed be be watching the outtakes from a reality show where the reality is a washed up, over aged (by TV standard) actress gets the nod to first star in, and then have a bit role in a new TV show. The show within the show is an updated version of Three's Company.

We get to watch the Kudrow character's attempt at being the center of attraction until she wises up that she's not the center of this universe as she was on her show of 20 years ago. The catch is watching this actress play an actress who evolves and adapts quickly to her new situation. She absorbs a lot of ridicule along the way - more than most folks could take. Rather than lash out and risk her gig, she smiles, pretends to go along with the gags where she is the butt of the joke and then makes minor adjustments based on her new perception of her role in this new world where she is no longer the star, but the comedic relief.

Like a Woody Allen movie, Kudrow's place both as the star and producer of the show give her too much time to make a lot of noise and too much screen time emoting monologues. However, even at her worst, she's not the ego maniac that Allen is so at worst, it's a bit too much, but still tolerable.

Whatever the outcome of this show, I think Kudrow has proved that she has range and talent well beyond what most folks thought she had.